QHM Chapter 93 – Extra 3

Zheng Ruo was carrying a thermos in her hand. She quickened her pace and walked up to Lu Shixing.

Putting on a smiling face, she greeted him in a cautious and slightly ingratiating tone: “Shixing, thank you for looking after Xiao Yin again today.”

Xu Yuan, who was in the third year of middle school, looked quite mature. After nodding, he asked politely, “How’s Shixiu-ge today? My mom made some soup for him and brought it over.”

Soup?

After all these years, had Xu Yin even had a single sip of soup from this woman? But now his brother could have some first?

Lu Shixing found it a bit ironic.

“My brother is doing quite well. No need for the soup,” he chuckled and said, “Might as well leave it for Xu Yuan to drink. It’s good for the body.”

Upon hearing this, Zheng Ruo and Xu Yuan both visibly reined in their expressions.

Zheng Ruo adjusted her face again and said gently, “A Yuan already drinks plenty at home. One more serving won’t matter. Today’s soup was specially made for President Yan—just as a thank you for taking care of Xiao Yin. He really has troubled you all—”

“Troubled us? How?” Lu Shixing interrupted. He was starting to get impatient.

“If Xu Yin hadn’t gotten into my brother’s car, he wouldn’t have been in that accident. We’re the ones who troubled him!”

Seeing his annoyance, Zheng Ruo and Xu Yuan grew even more cautious, as if they didn’t understand why he was angry.

Xu Yuan carefully said, “You can’t say it like that… We really did trouble you these past few days to look after my brother…”

Lu Shixing hated Zheng Ruo and Xu Yuan, this mother-and-son pair.

Xu Yin rarely talked about his family matters, but from scattered details and clues, Lu Shixing had more or less figured out what had gone on in Xu Yin’s home.

—Xu Yin’s parents divorced when he was six.

But in fact, their relationship had already fallen apart years before that.

They hardly ever appeared at home at the same time, each doing their own thing, and so their second marriages came quickly after the divorce.

Xu Yuan, the younger son of Xu Yin’s father, was even born the same year the divorce was finalized.

In a family like that, what kind of fatherly or motherly love could Xu Yin possibly get?

Every time Lu Shixing thought of this, he felt deeply sorry for Xu Yin.

Sure, so many years had passed, and Xu Yin didn’t seem to care anymore—

His mother died in an accident when he was in junior high, and Xu Yin had lived in the school dorms ever since.

Lu Shixing had known Xu Yin for two years, and besides that one call to get him to the hospital, Lu Shixing had almost never seen Xu Yin receive any other calls from home.

Xu Yin had said he didn’t care about those people.

He no longer cared about his father, much less his father’s new wife and their child.

So it was completely normal for Xu Yin to be distant from Zheng Ruo and Xu Yuan.

But Lu Shixing still hated this pair.

—If they had at least kept their distance consistently, Lu Shixing might’ve been able to extend them the same basic courtesy he gave any stranger.

But what did Zheng Ruo and Xu Yuan do?

They seemed mild-mannered on the surface, but the moment they saw a chance to connect with the Yan family, they changed their tone, suddenly acting like they cared about Xu Yin.

And they couldn’t even act well—They couldn’t even fake concern for Xu Yin properly. Xu Yin had been in a coma for five days, and they only visited every other day.

Each time they came, they exchanged a few words with Lu Shixing and his parents and then left. Sometimes they didn’t even go into the ward to look at Xu Yin.

They never asked, “How’s Xiao Yin doing today?”

What they did ask was always, “Is President Yan doing better?” “How’s Shixiu-ge today?”

Lu Shixing hated Zheng Ruo and Xu Yuan.

He hated their fake sincerity, hated how bad they were at acting, and more than anything, he didn’t want Xu Yin to be used as their stepping stone to get close to his parents—Fortunately, that last part, he could definitely prevent.

At this moment, Lu Shixing finally let his face go cold.

He’d had enough of Zheng Ruo and Xu Yuan’s repeated lines—“Xu Yin has troubled you,” “We made soup to thank you on his behalf.”

Whether it was he or his brother, neither of them considered Xu Yin a burden, and they certainly didn’t need Zheng Ruo and Xu Yuan to do anything on his behalf.

Lu Shixing said coldly, “There’s no need for this. In all these years, how many times have you seen Xu Yin? How many words have you even said to him? And now suddenly you want to ‘thank us’ on his behalf? I’ve said it so many times already—don’t bother. I’m closer to Xu Yin than he is to his own dad. We’re best bros. I take care of him because I want to. Do I need your thanks for that?”

At those words, Zheng Ruo and Xu Yuan froze.

To be fair, they didn’t have very thick skin. Their faces slowly turned red, clearly embarrassed.

Zheng Ruo mumbled, “But A-Yuan and I are still his family…”

“Do you even believe that yourselves?” Lu Shixing sneered.

“You’re not related by blood, and there’s no affection between you. How many times do you call him in a year? If his dad hadn’t gotten sick… I bet not even once a year.”

The more Lu Shixing spoke, the more lost Zheng Ruo and Xu Yuan looked. The two of them seemed like they were about to explode from sheer awkwardness.

Lu Shixing was blunt, even nodded toward Xu Yuan with his chin and said, “Last time Xu Yin and I ran into Xu Yuan, he pretended not to see us and just walked away—”

Xu Yuan was momentarily stunned.

Lu Shixing added, “Don’t remember? Around Labor Day, at XX Plaza. You forgot?”

Lu Shixing remembered it clearly.

He remembered a boy giving them a strange look, then turning around and walking away the second Xu Yin turned his head.

Lu Shixing asked Xu Yin if he knew the guy, and Xu Yin had just smiled and said it was his half-brother.

Lu Shixing didn’t even want to bring up whether he was angry or not. He just felt—

With a relationship that distant, how could Xu Yuan still shamelessly lie through his teeth and claim he saw Xu Yin as family? Do they have no shame?

Xu Yuan clearly remembered now.

He probably only just realized that the person standing next to Xu Yin back then had been Lu Shixing.

His mouth opened, but not a single word came out.

Zheng Ruo’s eyes immediately widened: “Is what Shixing said true? You saw your brother and didn’t even say hello?”

Xu Yuan stammered, “I…”

Zheng Ruo snapped, “When did you become so rude?!”

Xu Yuan was already stiff as a rock, sweat trickling down his temple. He muttered softly, “Mom, I…”

“All right, all right. If you failed to raise him all these years, what’s the point of suddenly trying now in front of me? I’m not going to grade your parenting,” Lu Shixing said with a sarcastic tone.

Zheng Ruo and Xu Yuan looked as if they had been slapped. Their faces turned pale and flushed.

After snapping at them, Lu Shixing turned to leave.

But Zheng Ruo hurriedly caught up to him, gritting her teeth: “Shixing, we know what kind of relationship you and Xiao Yin have!”

Lu Shixing stopped in his tracks: “?”

Zheng Ruo lowered her voice and said, “You and Xiao Yin… are in a relationship, right?”

Lu Shixing was dumbfounded: “???”

But Zheng Ruo went on talking as if she hadn’t noticed: “You’re not wrong. Our family situation is complicated, and yes, we’ve never been very close to Xiao Yin. But he’s still my husband’s eldest son. There’s no way we can completely ignore him. So when he fell into a coma, of course A Yuan and I had to come see him. And actually, we’ve been observing you two for a while—”

She lowered her voice further: “Xiao Yin’s father could never accept that he likes men, but now that he’s gone, A Yuan and I just hope Xiao Yin can live the life he wants. Just tell us honestly—are you his boyfriend? Don’t worry, we fully support Xiao Yin in pursuing his happiness.”

It was true—Zheng Ruo wanted to connect with the Yan family, but didn’t know how.

She hadn’t expected to be chewed out by Lu Shixing like this today, but she wasn’t about to let the opportunity slip away. That’s why she suddenly said all this.

She hoped that Lu Shixing would soften his stance a bit, at least for the sake of their “support” for Xu Yin’s happiness.

“Look, ever since Xiao Yin had the accident, you’ve practically been with him around the clock. You cried so much, you couldn’t eat or sleep,” Zheng Ruo thought she had seen through everything.

She completely missed the fact that Lu Shixing’s face was turning green as she gently said, “You and Xiao Yin must have been together for a long time, right?”

As she spoke, she was already calculating; whether Lu Shixing would stop hating them didn’t matter— What mattered was that they couldn’t afford to lose their connection to the Yan family.

Xu Yin was lucky to get involved with the youngest Yan, Lu Shixing, but Lu Shixing was just a spoiled young master, not someone with real power.

The real heavyweight was still Yan Shixiu, the eldest Yan son.

As long as they could connect with Yan Shixiu, how could her son Xu Yuan not have a bright future?

With the head of the Shixing Group looking out for him, Xu Yuan could walk the best path.

At this moment, ambition made Zheng Ruo anxious.

She even said, “You can trust Auntie. I bet your parents don’t approve of you and Xiao Yin. But if you tell me the truth, I can help you… If it comes to that, I can even help you get married secretly first, and tell them later—”

Lu Shixing lost it.

He shouted, “You’re saying I’m in a relationship with Xu Yin?!”

As the words fell, the door to the hospital room opened.

Yan Shixiu came out with his arm around Xu Yin’s shoulder.

The two of them heard the tail end of Lu Shixing’s sentence and froze in place.

Zheng Ruo blurted out instinctively, “Isn’t that true? You’re ready to live or die for Xiao Yin—what else is that if not love?”

Lu Shixing: “…”

Xu Yin: “…”

Yan Shixiu: “…………”

Yan Shixiu’s cold gaze immediately snapped toward his own little brother, and in that stare was a clear message: What the hell is she talking about?!

Zheng Ruo and Xu Yuan finally noticed Xu Yin was awake and nearly jumped in shock.

They hadn’t expected him to be conscious already.

Lu Shixing clutched his head in despair and yelled, “Stop saying nonsense! I only have brotherly feelings for Xu Yin—we’re just good bros! The one dating him is my brother!!”

Zheng Ruo and Xu Yuan were stunned.

At that same moment, Lu Shixing heard a voice from not far off— his mom, yelling in disbelief: “Lu Shixing, what the hell did you just say?! You’re not dating Xu Yin?!”

Yan Father and Yan Mother stood about ten meters away, both of them looking completely dumbfounded.

Xu Yin: “…?”

Yan Shixiu: “…………”

Lu Shixing: “???”

Lu Shixing didn’t even have the energy to complain about how perfectly timed his parents’ entrance was—he was too shocked: “??? Wait, Mom, Dad, didn’t you originally suspect that my brother and Xu Yin were involved? When did it become me and Xu Yin?!”

Yan Mother, incredulous: “Because you’ve been acting like you’re about to die for Xu Yin these past few days—crying, not eating, not sleeping. If that’s not love, what is? Your dad and I thought it through and figured Shixiu only protects him that much because he knows Xu Yin is his future sister-in-law!”

The second the words “sister-in-law” came out, the air around Yan Shixiu froze.

Xu Yin’s mouth twitched.

Lu Shixing was practically collapsing to his knees.

‘—Mom, Dad, your logic is so beautifully self-consistent!!!’

Yan Mother went on: “Your dad and I were so touched by how exhausted you looked these days. We even accepted the idea that once Xu Yin woke up, you two would come clean with us. We already prepared red envelopes!”

Lu Shixing: “?????”

‘Could you be any more enthusiastic?!’

Lu Shixing was about to suffocate.

So all that dying-for-love behavior was assumed to be love?!

They even prepared red envelopes?!

Here he was, too scared to even bring up coming out to them again, and these two had already mentally accepted everything…

And yet—

Lu Shixing, now thoroughly frustrated, shouted: “Xu Yin and I are into the same type! How the hell could we be dating?! At best, we’re sis—no, BROTHERS!!”

Yan Father and Mother, struck as if by lightning: “You didn’t have to tell us something we didn’t need to know!”

Lu Shixing: “%*&￥#@!!!”

Lu Shixing: “The reason I care so much about him is because we’re best friends! How could you think of it like that?! You two don’t even know that it’s my brother who’s been sneaking into Xu Yin’s hospital room every night to stay with him. That’s what a boyfriend does!”

Lu Shixing: “Ge!!”

He looked pitiful, completely sincere—

‘Don’t misunderstand me!!’

‘How could I dare? How could I dare to fight my big brother for a boyfriend?!’ 

Not only did he not have the guts, but he and Xu Yin were “on the same team”!

He already had a crush on a super strong top guy, okay!!

With that one shout, everyone’s eyes turned to him and the now-awake Xu Yin.

Yan Shixiu gave Lu Shixing a cool glance. Lu Shixing looked like he was about to cry.

Then Yan Shixiu took a step forward with Xu Yin.

Everyone held their breath.

Lu Shixing tensed up again, mentally preparing to watch how his brother would calmly come out to their parents—so that when he eventually landed his strong top guy, he’d have a reference for how to face Mom and Dad again.

And then he heard his ever-so-calm older brother solemnly say: “Dad, Mom, you’re mistaken. The one dating YinYin… is me.”

Yan Father and Mother were stunned.

“We’re serious.”

Yan Shixiu turned and looked at Xu Yin.

Xu Yin suddenly had a bad feeling.

Before he could stop him, the man beside him looked at him with sparkling eyes, so full of tenderness, and said: “—It might be a bit sudden for you two, but once he’s discharged, we plan to get married right away.”

Xu Yin: “…”

Lu Shixing: “…”

Zheng Ruo and Xu Yuan: “…”

Yan Father and Mother: “…”

Dead silence.

The man calmly repeated:

“Get married right away.”

“Get our marriage certificate.”

“Hold the wedding ceremony.”

After finishing, the man’s deep black eyes turned dreamy.

A mysterious smile tugged at the corners of his lips, as if he had already mentally walked into their wedding venue.

…

Yan Father and Mother’s inner thoughts: ‘Who kidnapped our calm and reliable eldest son and replaced him with this person?! Please return him immediately, thank you!!!’